<p><p>SAN ANTONIO — J’Wan Roberts extended his hands. Settle down, he said.</p></p><p><p>Yes, this was impossible.</p></p><p><p>Yes, this whole swirling, bizarre night was on the verge of becoming one of those games that will live in hearts and minds for eternity.</p></p><p><p>Yes, this was about to be the night that Houston pulled off a comeback so stunning, so jarring, that it will take everyone — specifically those souls living in Durham, N.C. — a lifetime to comprehend.</p></p><p><p>But settle down, Roberts said. The 23-year-old man spent the previous two hours trying to stay in front of Cooper Flagg’s deep bag of spins and crossovers. He spent two hours trying to will Houston to its first title game appearance in nearly 40 years. He spent two hours trying, and mostly failing, to stop the dam from breaking. Now the 6-foot-8, 235-pound Roberts had a free throw to give the Coogs an improbable lead — its first lead since the 15-minute mark of the first half.</p></p><p><p>The shot fell, and what would end in a stunning 70-67 Houston win began to feel very real. Kelvin Sampson’s team trailed mighty Duke 59-45 with eight minutes left in the second half of Saturday night’s second national seminal. The game, essentially, was over. It would be Duke heading to play Florida in a Monday night mega-matchup.</p></p><p><p>By the seven-minute mark, the deficit was down to single digits. With 1:14 remaining, it was down to six.</p></p><p><p>Then over the last 33 seconds, it all happened. Following a blown inbound play with 22.5 seconds remaining, Joseph Tugler careened in from nowhere for a put-back dunk off a missed 3 by teammate Emanuel Sharp. Then came Roberts’ free throws. Then came two more from LJ Cryer, the Houston Hero on this evening.</p></p><p><p><strong>Florida 79, Auburn 73:</strong> Florida’s Walter Clayton Jr. has a chance to add something rare to his growing NCAA Tournament legacy: a national championship.</p></p><p><p>A Gators’ career-high 34-point night pushed them past Auburn, 79-73, and into Monday night’s national title game while cementing his status as one of the best shotmakers in recent memory on college basketball’s biggest stage.</p></p><p><p>“People are going go on and talk about Walter Clayton Jr. for years to come,” sophomore Alex Condon said.</p></p><p><p>Clayton’s driving layup while falling to the floor and getting fouled with 1:33 to go was the dagger Saturday night at the Alamodome and carried him over the 30-point plateau in consecutive games.</p></p><p><p>The last player to score at 30 least during the Elite Eight and opening game of the Final Four was Larry Bird in 1979 at Indiana State.</p></p><p><p>Clayton’s driving layup while falling to the floor and getting fouled with 1:33 to go was the dagger Saturday night at the Alamodome.</p></p>
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